Kerstin Helgason, PMHNP
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Board Certified ​​
Kerstin is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Psychiatric nurse practitioners are similar to psychiatrists and can  prescribe psychiatric medications, diagnose mental health problems, and provide psychotherapy. Kerstin sees adults anywhere in California and Arizona and especially enjoys working with adults who are mid-life and older. 

Services

  • Prescribe psychiatric medications for adults.
  • Provide Ketamine, Including Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, for adults.
  • Provide psychiatric evaluation, including diagnosis of mental health conditions and recommendations for options for treatments for adults.
    • ​​Common problems include: depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar, and complex PTSD.
  • ​Psychotherapy for adults.​​

About Kerstin

Healing is within us. Connect with your inner healer who has wisdom and courage already there. 

I'm a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and having trained as a therapist and nurse practitioner I have a broad perspective that ranges from the biological and body to the psychological and spiritual. Our bodies and minds naturally want to heal, but we may need some help in doing so. Medication, therapy, and ketamine can help us focus our healing so we grow faster and more in the directions we want. I enjoy working with people who are ready to go deep into healing, want to both accept and change themselves, and are open to the healing process in the many forms it takes.

I have a Master of Nursing degree as a PMHNP from Oregon Health and Science University and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology degree as a psychotherapist from Pacific University. In addition, I completed the Master Psychopharmacology Program, through NEI (Neuroscience Education Institute) and Integrative Psychiatry Institute's Ketamine Prescriber Certification for using ketamine for treating mental health conditions.

I'm interested in exploring legal psychedelic therapies with ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin. Ketamine is a currently available treatment and already has vast  research supporting its use for depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, PTSD, and even OCD.  MDMA and Psilocybin Assisted Psychotherapy are psychotherapies assisted by the medication effects of MDMA or psilocybin. These therapies received the Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA and are in  FDA clinical trials for PTSD and treatment resistant depression. They are expected to be approved by the FDA in the coming years and we are hopeful they will help in healing many wounds.

While I mainly prescribe psychiatric medication and am expanding into ketamine treatment, I also have experience with a variety of therapies:  Mindfulness and Compassion based therapies, Sensorimotor therapies, Internal Family Systems or "parts" therapies,  Poly-vagal based therapies, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and specialize in working with people with complex PTSD, a form of PTSD that develops from interpersonal abuse or neglect.

Books I Love

  • How To Change Your Mind,  By Michael Pollan, Humans, psychedelics, and the potential for healing. 
  • The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, by Kristen Neff, PhD and Christopher Germer, PhD. A must read for trauma survivors. Beginner's guide to mindfulness, shame, grounding, and trauma concepts. 
  • Radical Acceptance, Embracing Your Life with the Heart of the Buddha, by Tara Brach, PhD. Introduction to the concepts of Radical Acceptance and Mindfulness.
  • The Courage to Heal,  A Guide for Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis. Explains impact of childhood sexual abuse, including social dynamics that allow for abuse to happen, as well as specific activities for healing.
  • The Body Keeps the Score, Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD. Explains impact and process of trauma on the body and mind.
  • Braving the Wilderness, The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, by Brene Brown, PhD​. Shame and how it affects just about everything.
  • Dare to Lead, by Brene Brown, expands on Braving the Wilderness with more detailed explanations and examples. 
  • Victims No Longer, The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse, by Mike Lew. Introduction to healing for men who experienced childhood sexual abuse. 
  • The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation, by Deb Dan. Explains how the body and mind respond to trauma and how to re-pattern the nervous system away from trauma responses. 
  • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Interventions for Trauma and Attachment, by Pat Ogden and Janina Fisher. Connecting the body and mind with attachment and healing concepts. Especially helpful with dissociation. 
  • Greenlights, by Matthew McConaughey. Stories of learning to be in the moment with one's own heart felt truth.
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Gilroy Office

8339 CHURCH STREET,  SUITE 114,  GILROY, CA 95020
Phone 408-767-2337   Fax 415-376-4572
Info@gilroymentalhealth.com
​Gilroymentalhealth.com